Secret 16th century passageway built for the ruling family of Florence, Italy opens to the public for the first time
A 16th-century secret passageway built for the ruling family of Florence, Italy, has opened to the public for the first time in history.
The Corridoio Vasariano or Vasari Corridor, a walking trail through the center of the Tuscan city, began to allow pedestrians on its 2,460-foot passage on Friday, CNN reported.
The pathway was constructed in 1565 for Duke of Florence Cosimo I de’ Medici of the Medici dynasty, which ruled Florence for over 300 years.
It connects three of the city’s landmarks — the Palazzo Vecchio, its town hall, the Uffizi Galleries, once the rulers’ offices, now an art museum, and Palazzo Pitti, the palace where the family lived.
The corridor was a “mythical place for the Western world” and a “parallel city within the city,” Uffizi director Simone Verde told the outlet.
The private trial — which consists of a covered walkway of terracotta bricks, with large porthole windows and 106 steps — was built in just five months by Renaissance painter and architect Giorgio Vasari. Its purpose was to provide the ruling family with a safe way to travel between work and home, and even restricted to members of the Medici’s staff were restricted from entering.
Its renovation, which took eight years, cost close to $11.5 million, according to The Art Newspaper. Prior to Friday’s unveiling, it was sometimes open for exclusive access for a steep fee, but in 2016 it shuttered for safety reasons. Tickets now cost 43 euros, or $45, and also include entry to the Uffizi Galleries, home to countless treasures by Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and more.
The construction of the Corridoio Vasariano, which used to be filled with 1,000 pieces of art from the 18th century, illustrates the political family’s connection to culture, Verde said.
“This was new to the Renaissance — the cultural element of government,” he told the outlet. “The culture created here was the motor for all the courts of modern Europe.” A visit to the revamped corridor, he said, “isn’t just a fantastic destination, but a trip to a vision of the world.”
Sightseers, who are able to tour Corridoio Vasariano in groups of 25, are able to use the passageway to avoid the crowds in the city.
They will also get a breathtaking view of the area, since the corridor is situated on top of buildings, palazzos towers and the famed Ponte Vecchio, the arch bridge over the Arno River.
